It’s an unlikely marriage: a chemist meets a wildlife ecologist and they join forces to develop a nose for diabetes.

But that’s what happened at Mississippi State University.

People emit odors through their skin and their mouths. These odors are called volatile organic compounds. These scents change all of the time, based on what people have eaten, when they have exercised, when they have rested — and whether they have a disease.

People with Type 1 diabetes emit different sets of volatile organic compounds based on their blood sugar levels. They sometimes use specially trained service dogs that can recognize changes in their blood sugar level. A dip in blood sugar levels can result in a seizure, and service dogs can guide people to a safe place.

Researchers at the university tested how to collect and analyze compounds to help diagnose and monitor disease. Enter the wildlife ecology department. Researchers there are examining ways to suppress these kinds of compounds for deer hunters. Hunters seek to suppress their odor in order to avoid spooking deer, which have keen senses of smell.

Wildlife ecology researchers analyzed hundreds of volatile organic compounds from 65 test subjects. They found that 29 key compounds were to blame for most of the problematic odors.

The way in which the researchers winnowed down these compounds is similar to the way diabetes service dogs are trained. Researchers can use the same methods to develop an electronic nose for detecting changes in the blood sugar levels of a person with diabetes.

While an electronic schnoz would be a lot less warm and fuzzy than a service golden retriever, it’s cheap to train and requires no water, food or sleep. Also, it can sniff for changes in smell all day and all night.

This new “nose” could be the next step in keeping people with diabetes that much safer.